Daily Current Affairs Quiz: August 6 2024

Ans (A)

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is the prime gaganyatri, and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair is the backup gaganyatri for the upcoming India-USA mission to the ISS.

Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian in space, flying on Soyuz T-11 on 3 April 1984.

Indians refer to space travelers as gaganyatri; the Chinese use Taikonauts, and the Russians use Cosmonauts.

The Gaganyaan Mission, conceived in 2007 and launched in 2018 with a budget of Rs 10,000 crore, aims for a three-day space mission.

Four IAF pilots, including Shubhanshu Shukla and Prasanth Nair, were trained in Russia, with an astronaut training facility in Bengaluru.

Other selected gaganyatri include Ajit Krishnan and Angad Pratap.

The four gaganyatri were awarded the Antriksh Yatri Pankh in February at ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.

The pilots are from the Air Force Test Pilot School, part of the Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE) in Bengaluru.

Ans (D)

The Mukhyamantri Maiyaan Samman Yojana has been launched by the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand to provide financial assistance to eligible women.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren will officially launch the scheme on 16 August 2024.

The 81-member Jharkhand legislative Assembly will go to poll in November/December 2024, with the current assembly’s term ending on 5 January 2025.

The scheme is viewed as a pre-election initiative by the Hemant Soren government.

The scheme was previously known as Jharkhand Behan Beti Swavalamban Protsahan Yojana.

It aims to empower women financially and improve their education, health, and nutrition.

Special enrollment camps will be set up in all panchayats and wards from 3-10 August 2024.

Ans (B)

The 14th Indian Organ Donation Day is observed on 3 August 2024 to raise awareness about organ donation.

The day also commemorates contributions by deceased donors and their families.

It aims to clear myths about organ donation and encourage people to donate their organs and tissues after death.

Observed annually since 2010, the date was changed from 27 November to 3 August in 2022.

3 August was chosen because it marks the anniversary of India’s first successful deceased donor heart transplant in 1994.

July is declared as the month of organ donation, coinciding with the enactment of the Transplantation of Human Organs Act 1994 on 8 July, which regulates organ removal, storage, and transplantation.

Ans (A)

The Government of India has approved eight new national high-speed corridor projects with a total cost of Rs 50,655 crore.

These projects will construct 936 km of roads and generate 4.42 crore mandays of employment.

Kharagpur—Moregram Road, 231 km long and costing Rs 10,247 crore, will enhance connectivity between West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and the North East.

India has the second-largest road network in the world, with a total of 63.32 lakh km as of 31 December 2022.

Maharashtra has 18,459.25 km of National Highways, Uttar Pradesh has 12,270.23 km, Rajasthan has 10,706.34 km, and Madhya Pradesh has 9,104.64 km of National Highways.

Ans (A)

India hosted the 14th India-Vietnam Defence Policy Dialogue in New Delhi on 1 August 2024.

The meeting was part of the wider military-to-military dialogue between the two countries to strengthen the bilateral defence relationship.

The dialogue coincided with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s official three-day visit to India from 30 July to 1 August 2024.

The 14th India-Vietnam Defence Policy Dialogue was co-chaired by the Indian Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane and Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of National Defence, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien.

Ans (B)

Doppler Radar to Be Installed in Lahaul-Spiti for Weather Forecasting.

An X-band Doppler weather radar will be installed in Lahaul-Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, by December 2025 to enhance weather forecasting and disaster management in the region.

Currently, 3 Doppler radars are operational in Himachal Pradesh, with a total expenditure of Rs 13.87 crore for their installation and operation.

The new radar will provide accurate data on weather and potential disasters.

Ans (D)

Dr Grinson George Assumes Charge as Director of ICAR-CMFRI.

Dr Grinson George is the new Director of ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), previously heading the Marine Biodiversity and Environment Management Division.

Dr George has also served as a board member at Cochin University of Science and Technology and Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies and has guided PhD scholars at multiple universities.

Ans (C)

India is ranked 39th out of 119 countries in the 2024 Travel and Tourism Development Index, according to the World Economic Forum.

The UNWTO barometer for May 2024 reports that India received 14.3 million international tourists in 2022.

This number represents 1.47% of the global tourism market and 15.66% of the market share in the Asia-Pacific region.

The top-ranked countries in the index are as follows:

1st: United States

2nd: Spain

3rd: Japan

4th: France

5th: Australia

Ans (A)

Lt Col Kabilan Sai Ashok has been appointed as India’s youngest Olympic boxing referee at the Paris Olympics 2024.

He is currently serving as the Joint Secretary at the Services Sports Control Board and is noted for his commitment to fairness, ethics, and excellence in sportsmanship.

Subedar Neeraj Chopra, an internationally acclaimed javelin thrower, is leading a group of 22 male athletes representing India at the Paris Olympics 2024.

Ans (D)

President Droupadi Murmu has embarked on a state visit to Fiji, New Zealand and Timor Leste from 5 -10 August 2024.

For the first time, an Indian President will visit Fiji and Timor Leste.

The visit is part of the Indian government’s Act East policy announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The policy aims to promote economic, cultural and strategic ties with the countries of the Indo-Pacific region.

An Indian President will visit New Zealand after eight years. Before President Murmu, President Pranab Mukherjee visited Fiji in May 2016.